Shadow of a Giant
by Xeal II
Summary: Generations of Omaticaya live and die under the leadership of their Olo'eytkan, guided by the wisdom of the former dreamwalkers, merging together to become something greater than either. Series of one-shots following the movie and my earlier Avatar fic.
1. Where Are You Now?

**Author's note: **By popular demand, I've decided to continue the story I began in _Pandora's Hope_. However as noted there, this will be a very different piece. It's more like a collection of one-shots set in the century-long gap between the final departure of the Sky People and their eventual return. Some of the tales will stand by themselves, others might not make much sense without first reading _Pandora's Hope. _Those of you who wanted more Norm/Pey'lal description will be getting it here, as some of the chapters will focus on them. As before, I will add to it each day I am able.

**Timeline: **There is no particular chronological order to these, they will come as I finish them, so I have provided dates for reference. _Venture Star_'s exodus from Pandora occurred in 2154. _Capital Star'_s departure and the final contact between RDA and the Na'vi occurred in 2155.

**Shadow of a Giant**

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_**1. Where Are You Now?**_

_Earth Year: 2231 AD. 76 Years After Final Contact._

Tradition governed all among the Omaticaya, yet such things were fluid over time, changing ever so slowly as generations were born, lived and returned to Eywa. Only the truly ancient ones could notice it. Yet one rule remained as solid as ever, unchanging throughout the seasons. Leadership by example; it was at the very heart of everything the People revered. _Olo'eytkan _must also be _ikran makto, _he must fly among the hunters, or he must allow another to ascend in his place. It was the way of things. Ancient ones were to be respected and consulted for their great wisdom, but they could not lead the Omaticaya against the great beasts, they could not serve as warriors.

Rain had fallen the night before, making the climb up Hometree's flank slick and treacherous. Jake's old joints ached with dull, throbbing pains, making each step more painful than the one before. A young blue hand reached for his, offering help. No one would question him if he took it, for he had been _Toruk Makto, _the living legend. If he needed this small help to sail over the clouds, who would deny him that? Jake Sully was never one to accept charity where strength of character would do. Grunting with an almost agonizing pain, he managed to haul himself onto the branch without help, much to the admiration of the warriors before him.

To them this was, perhaps, a display of immense courage, a testament to the strength of their _Olo'eytkan._ For Jake it was a very different matter. There were only two places in the world he could still hear Neytiri in his mind, still feel the bond consummated so long ago. Often he would sit next to the Tree of Souls for hours on end, connected to Eywa, touching her soul. All Omaticaya knew to leave him alone in such times. Unless Sky People were descending from the heavens, he was not to be disturbed from his communion with his lifemate's soul. Some, perhaps, thought it unhealthy that he grieved silently, away from the others. None would say so openly.

Yet the Tree of Souls was not the only place he could feel her. Over the years, he had tamed many _ikran,_sailed across much of the world and hunted many beasts. Flying should have been a chore for him by now, as it was to many of the warriors. But this had been his dream even in those almost-forgotten days when he had been human. It was a dream that never ceased to amaze him, the feeling of the air on his skin, the flapping wings of his _ikran,_ the thrill of diving through the floating mountains.

"We go?"A hunter questioned his leader with anticipation. Tay'et was a second-generation descendant of Norm, and his friend's features echoed in the young warrior, fresh from his Trial. Norm, too, had been gone for several years. In fact, Jake was the last of the former dreamwalkers, still lingering on. Most didn't even truly understand what a dreamwalker was anymore, as far as they knew, he was simply _Toruk Makto _and _Olo'eytkan, _the defeater of the Sky People.

"You go." Jake answered the excited young hunter. "I must fly alone today."

All Omaticaya knew this of their leader. Just as he sometimes lingered by the Tree of Souls, other times he would fly to the ends of the world and back again. Tay'et did not try to talk his leader out of it, he knew better, but part of the young hunter wished he could simply banish the pain _Olo'eytkan_ felt for his mate, gone for many seasons now. Of course it could not be, some mating bonds were so strong that they remained powerful even after death, it had been seen before. Most such bondings resulted in the death of the survivor not long after, as if one body could not live on its own any longer. Jake was different, acknowledging the pain and yet continuing on, dealing with the fractured bond in his own way.

Jake whistled softly, his loyal _ikran _flapping its wings, stirring wet leaves everywhere around him. The leader clambered up, the dull pain in his legs ignored as he mounted the beast, flying off into the cloudy skies beyond Hometree. The cool air was in his face again, the forest whisking away beneath him, it was like a dream his body always half-expected to wake up from. He was one with his _ikran,_ gliding through thundering mountains, ascending higher, above the low-hanging clouds. Jake's eye even caught a glimpse of his mighty _toruk,_ still remembering its rider after all these years, flying side-by-side for a brief moment before vanishing into the clouds from whence it came. The sight of the great beast brought a smile to his weathered features.

_Where are you now? _Jake's mind questioned, the words echoing in his mind. _Be with me again as we fly together._

_I am with you now, Jake, _came the reply from someplace deep within.

And he felt her again, as if they were still flying together, dancing through the boundless skies. Warmth flooded through the bond, the connection to Neytiri and to Eywa glimmering in his mind. It was a joyful moment, gliding over the seas, the memory of her with him just she had been in life. Jake Sully smiled, letting himself soar over the jungles of his home, the dream still with him. His people did not truly understand how each day he could manage to climb to the great _ikran _nest within Hometree, how he could still soar in the skies and hunt from far above. Some thought he just wanted to stay as _Olo'eytkan_ until his body breathed no more. No one understood that he did not fly in order to lead, or fly to stave off death. He flew to _live._


	2. I Have Touched the Sky

_**2. I Have Touched the Sky**_

_Earth Year: 2159 AD. 4 Years After Final Contact._

Floating in the void, she dreamed, visions of her world cascaded from far above. Light flowed from the gently curving skies as her home awoke from the darkness. Neytiri was weightless, gliding through the air like an _ikran,_ once again seeing her home from above for the first time. It was a memory that came to her often; it was the only thing she could truly _admire_ about the Sky People. Awakening, her eyes fluttered briefly, the memory of her dream still fresh in her mind, the amazement still surging through her._ I have fallen, though I have touched the sky._

Part of her felt as if she could leap into the air and glide just as he had years ago in that final battle with the Sky People, in the bowels of their great metal beast, the _star-ship._ Like all things relating to the Sky People, it was both terrifying and hauntingly beautiful at the same time. Yet she could not dwell on it, for such a thing would never happen again. She was not meant to live among the stars any more than she was beneath the endless waves of the Eastern Sea. _But I have touched the sky!_

Whatever magic the sky held over her, it still could not compare to the love she felt for her home. It had taken sometime for the new Hometree to replace the old one in her heart, and part of her knew it never would entirely. Yet this place was beautiful in its own way, leaves a shimmering green, dancing in the wind. Branches creaked, the familiar sounds of children playing and Ancient Ones storytelling told her, in no uncertain terms, that this was where she belonged, forever.

"Neytiri." It was Pey'lal the huntress, life-mate of Norm, holding their sleeping son. She was among the few who truly understood the ambiguity in her mind when it came to the Sky People. Perhaps one needed a former dreamwalker as a mate to _see_ them as they were, not as they appeared to be.

"Pey'lal." Neytiri greeted. Among the Omaticaya there were none who understood the Sky People better.

"Are you troubled?" Pey'lal asked.

"Not troubled. Curious," Neytiri began, her voice as soft as the morning breeze, barely audible above the pleasing sounds of the forest. "Do you wonder about your Nor-men sometimes? Where he comes from, why he left the Sky World?"

"Often," Pey'lal began. "If you could command fire, metal and the stars, what would make you give them up?" Pey'lal had always possessed a certain pragmatic wisdom that was rare among the Na'vi. In many ways, she was rather like some of the Sky People, always curious, always aloof. Neytiri supposed that was why she had bonded with Norm in the first place.

"Love. Of the forest, of the bond," said Neytiri, almost instinctively.

"Sky People things are powerful, but they lose their magic eventually. Things must be _new_ and _better _to Sky People for them to be happy." Pey'lal explained. "I have seen this through the bond. Have you?"

"I have seen it with my own eyes. Up there, I touched the sky. I saw our home from so far away, it is such a tiny place. Yet the Sky People do not even notice the wonder of it." Neytiri answered.

"That's why my mate came here. To the Sky People, commanding the stars is the _same._ But living among the People, that is _new_. That is _better._" Pey'lal explained. Yet somehow Neytiri knew this was not the reason her Jake had crossed the endless void. He had not come so far for something new, for the sake of its newness. Jake had come to learn to live again, to learn to love, a far greater calling.

"It is _fubar._" Pey'lal muttered. The strange English word had caught on among the Omaticaya and all knew its meaning now. Perhaps the usage was not the same; the Sky People tongue was so different than the language of the People, but the general meaning was something all Na'vi could relate to. It was appropriate that such a word came from the humans.

"Yes, it is," Neytiri replied, walking away quietly, once again alone with her thoughts. Part of her wished she could have seen the Sky World, this _Earth_ Jake sometimes talked about. He described it as a terrible place, a wasteland of death and destruction beyond anything she could imagine. Yet even with a ruined world, they were able to do such amazing things. How great could they have been if they did not war amongst each other, if they did not destroy their own home? What magic could they have brought to the Omaticaya if they had left their war machines behind? That they could do this had been proven by her lifemate, by all of the dreamwalkers who had forsaken their human bodies for life among the People.

Jake's approach was a thing she felt within as much as saw with her eyes. Her heart fluttered as she gazed upon him, seeing the curve of his smile, feeling the warmth of emotion deep within. Neytiri embraced her love, her lifemate, with boundless enthusiasm. Conflicting thoughts about Sky People and the nature of the world around her vanished in a heartbeat as she was flooded with the joy of the bond. Yet one final thought stirred in the deepest recesses of her mind even as she began to lose herself in the happiness around her. She knew she had been the first among the Na'vi to leave the bounds of her world. _But will I be the last?_ The cries of their daughter, clutched protectively in Jake's arms, interrupted her thoughts. It was almost as if the child had answered her.


	3. Attune to Atonement

_**3. Attune to Atonement**_

_Earth Year: 2165 AD. 10 Years After Final Contact._

Music hummed in his ears, a comfort of drum, synthesizer and electric guitar that echoed in his modified headphones. Always the world made so much more sense when he let himself go, his thoughts flowing the melody, merging into a sort of a natural harmony. In such a state, his mind felt stronger, more alive; he had always done his best scientific work this way.

All around him, Hometree was a beehive of activity, and here he sat alone on the exposed tree root. Norm had given up much, living among the Na'vi, yet he could not part with his library of music. Undoubtedly, the other Omaticaya considered him rather odd, literally marching to the beat of a different drum. But it didn't bother him, he could part with all the evil of Earth-that-is, but he couldn't give up all of the good.

Norm's musical taste was quite varied, extending from the rather depressing late-period industrial-pop of the mid 22nd century to the ancient, classical tunes from the eighties period of the 20th. It was the latter that occupied his time today, awaiting Pey'lal's successful return from yet another hunting expedition. There was something to these classical songs, a sort of optimism even in the most depressing songs of the era. This was from a time when mankind was still on the rise, learning and growing an exponential rate, so long before the inevitable crash into harsh reality. It was from Earth-that-was, still a vibrant place, full of life, full of possibility.

Eventually his music player would give up the ghost, perhaps the solar charger would fail, or maybe the solid-state disk would crash, and that would be the end of the only _good _connection he retained with his birth-world. Until then, if others among the Omaticaya caught him with the strange device, what of it? They seemed to expect a certain amount of strangeness among the former dreamwalkers and he certainly fit the bill. Only Pey'lal worried him, for as strong as their bond was, he still felt nervous around her, still sought her tacit approval. He was thoroughly convinced that his behavior amused her greatly.

**"Nor'men!"** The scream pierced his awareness, and he fumbled for his headphones, nearly falling off of the exposed root he had been sitting on. Modifying the things for Na'vi ears had certainly been a task, though he had accomplished his goal. Perhaps he had done _too_ good of a job, judging by the annoyed expression on his lifemate's face.

"I could have been a predator, trying to kill you." Pey'lal chastised before her face softened with genuine concern, ignoring the fact that she, herself, was a sort of predator. She had certainly been patient and persistent enough stalking him many seasons ago. "Your Sky People things, they will get you killed someday."

"Probably," Norm admitted. "This one is important to me, though." And it was true. Music was like a drug and he had been addicted to it long before ever setting foot on Pandoran soil. The former scientist could part with air conditioning, computers and spacecraft, but something as simple as a library of songs was somehow too much to give up. His mate's expression became that soft, loving smile he had also could not do without. To feel her near him, to look into her eyes, was a rush down his spine, a euphoria that always threatened to overwhelm him. And the bond only grew with time, becoming ever-stronger as the seasons flew by.

"What is it?" Pey'lal had seen the strange device many times before, it was the last of the Sky People machines her mate had retained. Often, he would wear the ear-things when he thought she wasn't watching, fearful that she would judge him poorly for holding on to it. She knew it to have some special place in his heart, there had to be reason he would keep the thing long after he had abandoned all other machines. Through the bond, she could feel his apprehension, his confusion and his shame.

"It... lets me hear Sky People music." Norm answered.

"Music? Can I hear the music with those?" She pointed to the headphones with an air of curiousity, sitting down beside him, reaching for his hand. There was an attachment to this music in his heart, one final lingering connection to his old life that couldn't be broken.. Norm only nodded briefly in Sky People fashion, placing the foreign devices in her ear and...

...Pey'lal nearly jumped off of the root. Sounds flowed through her ears, like the harmony of all Omaticaya singing the blessings of Eywa. Most of the words flew by faster than she could translate them in her mind, but it didn't matter. It was _beautiful. _Sometimes it held a haunting quality, as if the Sky People who made it were calling to their mates across the seas. Other times it was so exciting, so filled with life-giving energy. How such a violent people could make such beautiful music was beyond her comprehension, but it was also undeniable. Many different kinds of song passed through her awareness as time flew by, but through it all she was smiling, finding her body responding to the rhythm, her foot tapping on the forest floor in time with the sounds. Finally Norm reached for the device, but Pey'lal shook her head and beat him to it, walking into the gathering place with the device firmly attached to her hip belt, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's just great," Norm mused to himself, wondering if he'd ever get the player back from his mate. In retrospect it made a lot of sense, Na'vi were so attuned to the world around them, it would follow that song would reach them where words might fail. Something amazing had happened here, his mate had taken a machine from him to use for herself. It was, perhaps, the first step towards atonement. _We never did try trading music with them, of all things. _


	4. Merging Reality

_**4. Merging Reality**_

_Earth Year: 2251 AD. 96 Years After Final Contact. _

Life was a fog for Jake Sully, a hazy world that shifted and changed with every word, every thought. _Where am I? When shall I awake? _Only darkness greeted his questions, fading into the background of his mind like the remnants of a dream, floating away from memory. Then he was floating in the skies, guiding warriors into fearsome battle, only to wake up in the distorted reality of the Sky People, _his_ people.

Such dreams were nightmares, a haunting reminder of what he had been. During his more lucid moments he would realize that he would never return there, that he was still at home among his true people. Omaticaya came and went, telling him of things they had done, of successful hunts and tragic failures. Was he _Olo'eytkan_? Even he did not know the answer to this, but it no longer mattered. No one asked for his decisions anymore, he had long since given up such a role. To all Omaticaya, he was the Last Dreamwalker, _Turok Makto_, a quasi-mystical figure, somehow still drawing breath despite his extreme age.

Memory slipped again, and he fell into the blackness, his thoughts derailing, his mind losing its sharpness. Neytiri was whispering in his ear, telling him of her love, of their daughter's. Norm was there, apologizing for some terrible transgression even as Jake assured him everything would be okay, that he truly understood.

"Jak'suly" The words echoed in his ears, awakening him from his dream-like slumber. He was underneath Hometree, sitting in a chair of wood and vine, at the center of a great gathering. Omaticaya were around him, chanting as others brought forth the latest kill, proof of the successful hunt. A warrior stood before him, a face the he somehow recognized as his own. Memory stirred unbidden from the depths of his mind. _This is my grandson. _What was his name?

"Jak'suly, another has completed the Trial, we bring meat for the bellies of the People." The warrior said, his voice so familiar and so distant at the same time. He had brought a great bounty of food, many yeriks had been slain for the feast before him.

"You have done well, this was a good hunt." Jake could only say. The warrior beamed at this, pleased at the high praise _Toruk Makto_ had offered him.

"It is only through your teaching that I am _Olo'eytkan, _that Omaticaya prosper." The warrior replied. _So I gave that up some time ago, _Jake reasoned, his mind beginning to return to him.

"Eytukan, is Jak'suly well today?" A child asked the warrior. _Eytukan_, so that was his name. Jake remembered again, how their grandson had been named for the great Omaticaya leader who had died in defense of the first Hometree. It was a good, strong name and it suited the new leader well. His skills with bow and knife must be great to provide for such a feast.

"I am well, young one." Jake answered, smiling at the little girl who tugged on his hand. He reached for her, his old joints aching, as he deposited the young one on his lap. She too, looked familiar somehow. Many among the Omaticaya were relatives of his somehow, he realized suddenly. Eywa had allowed those first generations to replenish their numbers before the birthrate slowed again. Now many matings were occurring with betrothed of other clans, as was the traditional method to introduce new blood into the clan. But that hadn't been necessary with the first generations after finding the new Hometree. The Avatars had introduced much new blood into the clan, revitalizing it once again. And now he stood in front of his people, many who were among his descendants.

"Father of my Father," Eytukan began. "It is good to see you of full mind tonight."

"Perhaps not of full mind, but well enough." Jake replied solemnly. It was a terrible thing to know your mind was slipping, that your memories were becoming jumbled and hazy. "And who is this?" He smiled at the young child in his lap.

"I am Neytiri." She smiled back before scrambling away to obtain her share of the growing feast. Jake frowned at the name, remembering his mate, passed on so long before. How long had it been? How long since he had heard her voice or felt her soft breath on his skin? How long since anyone had dared to call him _skxawng?_ It was well that names remained in the memory of the clan, that his descendants remembered those who came before. Yet it still hurt to hear it spoken aloud.

"Eytukan, how many seasons has it been since..." Jake let the last bit remain unspoken.

"It has been many seasons, much more than twenty since she has returned to Eywa." The warrior answered, a sadness crossing his features. "You always ask this when you return to us. Do not let yourself be troubled, she is with Eywa."

"I have lived too long, son of my son. Do not wish this on yourself, to outlive those you love." Jake answered.

"I do not. Yet Eywa has not taken you from us, and I am glad. Our great mother must have another purpose for you, some last thing that must be done." Eytukan offered. Whether it was simply his fading mind or whether it was simply impossible to understand, Jake had no idea what Eywa might want from him, what final task was out there unfinished.

"I must go, Jak'suly. There is much to be done. I will bring food and drink, that you remain strong for Eywa's need." Eytukan said simply, walking off into the growing festivity beyond. For his part, Jake watched dispassionately, his mind already beginning to fade again. _What is my final purpose?_ He wondered, reaching for the empty scabbard still strapped to his weathered body. Fidgeting, he looked at it curiously. _Where am I?_


	5. Shadow of a Giant

_Author's Note: This chapter is the namesake of the story itself, so it is obviously of great symbolic importance._

_**5. Shadow of a Giant**_

_Earth Year: 2186 AD. 31 Years After Final Contact._

Polyphemus the gas giant, as the Sky People knew it, was high in the sky this night, the swirling gasses of its upper atmosphere glowing with reflected light. Around Jake Sully, plants lit up, a wondrous glow that spread across the forest, lighting his way. Pandora's beauty was everywhere, a dance of light, the pulse of life humming in the background. Such natural wonder never ceased to amaze him, to give him pause, thinking about how life might have been if he had never come to this place.

In the middle of all of this natural beauty was a worn, pitted and truly massive metal machine, long since dead. Vines and soil had long since covered most of the wreckage, growing up and over it, hiding the scar upon the land. This was a thing that did not belong, a foreign object that had no place in a world that still lived. Jake inspected it closer, his large blue hands wiping off years of grime and dirt. His eyes widened in recognition and surprise.

"What is it, my Jake?" Neytiri asked, catching his shock.

"It is _Centauri One_." The words caught in his throat, memories of Earth flooding back to him. All mankind knew that name, it had been the first probe sent to another star system. Without such, man would never have even known Pandora existed.

"Cen-tar-ey one?" Neytiri asked curiously. "Explain this."

"Long ago, Sky People sent out machines to learn about the stars. It was before they could send people. This was the first of those machines, and it told them about the Na'vi." Jake explained. Centauri One had crash landed on Pandora, a victim of a slight miscalculation about the moon's gravitational field or some such catastrophic event. Jake hadn't been paying attention enough in science class to remember exactly. Much of the probe still operated after the crash, however, sending back pictures all Earth children saw in elementary school now, photos of curious Na'vi poking at the cameras. Memories of his childhood came unbidden, classrooms full of young, optimistic children growing up on the razor's edge between life and death. Every child had been fascinated with the newly discovered world, so many had dreamed of seeing it for themselves. _I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams then, that I would be living as one of the People, _Jake thought.

"All Sky People know the story." Jake finished.

"Why does it affect you so?" Neytiri was oddly curious about the significance of this Sky People thing, why it had such importance.

"Sky People were once... pursuers of knowledge. They wanted to explore the stars, learn and find others, like the Na'vi." Jake continued, wiping the dirt from his hands, staring in amazement at the craft. "The _pictures_ Centauri One sent inspired Sky People to come here, to make contact and learn."

"But they did not come to learn, they came for the floating rock, to kill and take." Neytiri replied angrily.

"The probe found some of the floating rock. So most of the knowledge-seekers stayed on _Earth_, and the greedy people came instead. The rest you know." Jake answered, actually finding himself defending his former people for a change. No one had _intended_ to come to Pandora and slaughter innocents, but when bureaucratic greed hijacked the entire situation, that's exactly what happened. It was a story all too common in human history.

"And they came to take the rock, even if it meant killing the People." Neytiri finished for him. "So why does it bother you so much to see this?"

"Centauri One was a symbol on Earth, of learning, of knowledge, of the ability to travel the stars and find friends, of all good in Sky People." Jake shook his head sadly as he sat on an overturned log. "The builders of this thing had such high hopes for it, they never knew of all the bad that would happen."

Neytiri visibly relaxed, reaching for her mate, holding him, comforting him. Before he could stop her, she was reaching for his queue, merging them together into one soul. Sometimes words just weren't enough, sometimes it took the bond to truly know and feel. Their thoughts merged as they felt the power of the bond, and suddenly she _understood._ Jake was Sky People no longer, but a part of him could never give up hope for his birth-people, part of him wished they could _see. _

This thing of corroded metal and lifeless wreckage was proof that humans could do great things in the name of good, that they could learn and see the world around them as never before. Disappointment had filled her mate's soul, he never hated Sky People for what they did, he was simply disappointed in them. As far as Jake was concerned, they had not lived up to what they could have been, they had failed their Trial. Neytiri soothed him, offering her love, offering her thoughts to him. Humans would learn, Eywa would teach them on their own world, as Norm had told them. The seeds sent there would grow, and they would _see. _They need not worry about things that could not be changed, about events impossibly far away.

Love flowed through their connected minds, acting almost as one, their awareness entwined close together. Jake's lips were there, dancing over her own with pressing need, with intense feeling. Hands intertwined as they fell together in body and soul. Her thoughts became his as they let go of their worries, as they became one flesh as well as one mind. The two of them had grown longer in years, but nothing had changed between them, as they made love underneath the shadow of the gas giant far above.

Beyond them, the wreckage of the old probe lay dormant, silent proof of the determination of man. A part of the merged consciousness of Jake/Neytiri knew they would return someday, and both silently hoped that new Sky People would come in the spirit of the great probe, to learn.


	6. Star's End

_**6. Star's End**_

_Earth Year: 2283 AD. 128 Years After Final RDA Contact. 22 Years After Second Landing._

Earth's journey through the millenia had been a tumultuous one, filled with death, rebirth and death once again. Even now radiation scarred the land, cities lay half-abandoned, ruins decaying into the recovering wilderness beyond, populated by a mix of Terrestrial plants and Pandoran trees. Twisted wreckage still shown in many places, the remnants of countless ancient wars, but already vines and mosses sought to heal the blight from the land. The sight of it brought forth images of a greater time, when mankind had such high hopes for its own future.

There were signs of recovery too, within shimmering new metal towers taller than Hometree, stretching into the heavens, as if reaching for the very stars. For the first time in nearly a century, new construction dominated the skyline of the recovering settlements of man. Great orbital factories churned out new starships and computers, earth-bound farms once again grew great swaths of crops, feeding a populace long tired of algae rations and canned goods. This was an Earth beginning to harmonize with its environment again, equally divided for those in the endless pursuit of science and those who chose another, more natural path. It was a compromise that served both well.

Neytiri, the second of that name, had been a small child when Jak'suly, the ancient leader of her people had told her of this place, of the dying world from which all dreamwalkers had sprung. Yet this was a world dying no longer, slowly recovering herself, possessing the nascent, growing consciousness of Eywa. Humans might not be able to speak with her, but she obviously spoke to them. This was a place so different from the descriptions of her ancestors. There was hope here, there was life, and though there was much work yet to be done, the battle to save man's home had essentially been won. She took her first step onto this new world, feeling the soil on her feet, feeling the warmth in the air.

"Welcome to Earth, Ambassador." A human male stood before her, smiling, extending his hand in welcome. She reached for it in the Sky People fashion, bending low, shaking it gently in their way of greeting. Other Na'vi left the confines of the _shuttle,_ their eyes taking in the strangeness of this place, the power of the Sky People laid before them in all its wonder, and all its terror.

"I greet you, in the name of the Omaticaya and all Na'vi." She said in accented English. The language had been taught to all Omaticaya children when they were young, ensuring that when Sky People returned to their home, they would be understood. The new colony of man on _Pandora,_ as the Sky People called her home, had been a very different thing from the first one she had been told of in story and legend. The new human settlement did not seek the floating rock or kill the people, it did not destroy the forest or ruin their land with poisons. In fact much of the settlement actually floated high above, with only a few of their metal structures on the surface. The Sky People were truly becoming one with their name, living among the stars in great vessels.

Somehow she had always known that she was destined for the stars. Even as a youngling, she had stared at the sky and wondered what mysteries they held for her. It was unusual for Na'vi to do this, bound as they were to the will of Eywa, but among the Omaticaya it was known to happen sometimes. Some thought this was because of the dreamwalkers, others thought this was just Eywa's will, shown in another light. Whatever it was, she was glad for it. Certainly she would miss her home over the next six Sky People years, during her tour here, but she would return home someday, and what stories she would have to tell her People when other Na'vi replaced her.

"This is Tey'unas, he is a warrior among us." Neytiri pointed at the massive bulk of the hunter beside her. Some Sky People stirred at the mention of this, but their concept of an _embassy_ allowed for the presence of some warriors. The leaders of the Second Colony had been very clear on this concept. Just as those humans were an _embassy_ to The People and possessed some warriors of their own. It was fair, and in that she sensed the rightness of it. Certainly it had been difficult to trust Sky People after the stories and legends passed down among all Na'vi, but they had earned it over the years, never again turning to the path of war. It was her job to ensure they never did in the future.

Introductions continued all around, but Neytiri was no longer paying attention, seeking the comfort of a small _kelutrel _nearby. It was quite small, for it had only tens of seasons to grow, but it would do for the small party of thirty Omaticaya. Much land had been set aside for them, covered in recovering vegetation, populated by many strange creatures. Earth people called this place the Yellow Stone, and it was one of the recovering areas of the planet.

"Yes, that is to be your embassy. This is your territory, among us. You are not required to adhere to our laws within this space, it is yours as if it were on Pandora. There is a line of metal towers that marks the boundary of your land here." The Earth _diplomat_ state simply. This had already been explained to her before leaving. On her home, the Earth people were _sovereign_ within their small colony. On Earth, her people were _sovereign _in this space the humans provided for them.

"There are many trees and plants, and some of our wildlife to hunt as you will. I have already spoken to our biologists, and they assure me that you can eat it safely. We can grow _yeriks _for you, from cloned cells, if you would prefer them. However we do not wish for them to get loose into our world, so we would have to grow them and kill them for you if you chose this." The diplomat continued.

It was a difficult decision, but Neytiri decided she would hunt these Earth animals first. It would be very difficult for her to give up the hunt, the excitement of it, the thrill. Na'vi were not meant to be _farmers_ as humans were, though that way of life seemed to work for them. She only hoped the taste of these Earth creatures would be palatable to her and the others, it would be difficult to stand these six years with terrible things to eat.

"We will hunt, for now." She answered, and the diplomat smiled at this.

"This is good. Beyond your lands, you may encounter the_ naturals._ They are a group of our people who live more like yours. It's a movement that's been growing lately." Neytiri blinked at this. There were humans who lived among the forests? Well that shouldn't surprise her too much, legend said that was how the dreamwalkers had come to live among the Omaticaya. Obviously some Sky People did not want the complex way of life among the metal machines, even as other humans continued to build ever-more powerful machines in the void between the worlds.

"I thank you, sir." Neytiri began, the rest of her group shuffling off to the embassy land's Hometree. Even though this world was alien to her, there was a certain comfort, a certain familiarity in it now that trees like home had sprouted here. She could commune with Eywa here too, and it made her happy. Perhaps she could help the humans hear the great mother's voice, perhaps they would _see._ Even if they never saw as she did, it was good that they now treated the Na'vi as equals, not as things to push around in pursuit of the floating rock. There were many ancient wounds yet unhealed between the two Peoples, but it was time for them to be washed away. It was time to start anew, here on this healing Earth, where all stars ended and all such journeys began.

She reached for her bow, nodding respectfully in farewell at the Earth diplomat, bounding off to hunt these new animals. It would be an exciting hunt, there would be much to learn here. Part of her wished the ancient leader of the Omaticaya, Jak'suly, could have been alive to see this, to see how the world of his ancestors had been reborn. Behind her, the diplomat looked on wistfully as if in his own way, he envied them.

**

_**Author's Note/Rant: **When I saw Avatar for the first time, this idea came to me. Someday in the far off future, humanity would figure out its problems, one way or another, even if it took great sacrifice. When that day came, Na'vi, as the only sentient species encountered thus far, would have to be invited to Earth. There might even be an embassy of sorts, a way of communicating and learning about each other.  
_

_As for the bit about the __naturals, this is something I've thought about often. There are groups of people even today who would love to just go jump into the woods and live with nature. And there are a great many of us who think that would be idiotic at best. In this story, I see humanity separating into distinct groups, some of whom favor a lifestyle much like the Na'vi, for it does have its appeal, and others favoring expansion into space. It would be well for both to achieve a sort of balance with each other, and it would aid in communicating with the Na'vi. _

_Anyway, I'm probably over-analyzing it, that's a flaw of mine. It's just a movie, right? I should note that I'm not an environmentalist myself, or even particularly liberal. Actually, I'm a capitalist/libertarian by political viewpoint, but I firmly believe that it is possible for men to find common ground with each other, no matter how different their views may be. Shooting each other over rocks would be pointlessly stupid and shortsighted. A truly visionary capitalist would understand that war brings destruction, not creation and new business.  
_

_ In other words, one may be a capitalist without being shortsighted and violent. And one may be Na'vi and still appreciate that the other side can be good and decent. Jake taught them that much, right? Many in this fandom probably wonder what it would be like to -be- Na'vi, to live as they do. I can only say if such a thing were possible, I wouldn't want it. I like my technology, it is my purpose in life and I'm not sure I would adapt well to life without it. Yet I can see the appeal of such a simple life, free of so many modern complications. I can sympathize with them and understand that technology doesn't make the man, rather, man makes the technology. So I see humanity doing something similar in the future of the Avatar universe, separating into those who prefer the simple life and those who, respectfully, decline it but still sympathize and understand it._

_Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but as a career cynic, I've tended more towards pessimism, so I doubt it._


	7. Unintelligent Design

_**7. Unintelligent Design**_

_Earth Year: 2179 AD. 24 Years After Final Contact. _

Much had been forgotten, much had been gained, it was a contradiction that dominated his awareness, eyes fixated on a pair of defiant Na'vi. It was a look Jake Sully knew all too well, for he had seen it before in the face of his own mate so many seasons ago. Yes, the eyes said, we did this thing, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Perhaps he could have done without the gazes of the rest of the clan fixing on the mated pair, wondering when the confrontation would begin, but Omaticaya had always been a curious folk among the Na'vi. It was a blessing from Eywa and a curse from the same.

"Grace," he began, calling out his daughter's name. It was not a proper Na'vi name, but none had questioned it, least of all his own lifemate. Some things defied tradition, and properly so. Other situations, like the one presented before him now, were of a different matter entirely. "Did you mate with this man?" It was not a question.

"I have. We are mated with the blessing of Eywa." Grace answered defiantly, hissing to emphasize her point. Betrothals weren't something he truly approved of, and had she broken the arrangement by mating with _anyone _else, he would have breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled at the turn of events. After all, Neytiri's own betrothal hadn't exactly gone according to plan either. Yet this event was a thornier problem, even, than that had been.

Most of the time, Jake was grateful for the limitations upon his leadership, he never really wanted the power in the first place. But just this once, he wished for unquestioned obedience. _Right,_ he thought wryly, _might as well wish for Toruk to descend from the skies and do the funky chicken._

"Norm. Did you know about this?" Jake asked dangerously.

"Well, uh... I might have had some suspicion, yes." The former scientist replied. Pey'lal shrunk down beside her mate, shaking her head in denial. _He's not getting any action for awhile,_ Jake thought distractedly.

"You, of all people, should have known this was a bad idea." Jake answered, glaring at him for a moment before relaxing. "What's done is done, I suppose we can only hope for the best." Jake could hardly remain angry at his own daughter for long, despite the pent up rage he sensed from his mate. Neytiri had been a far stricter parent for their children than he had.

Thorny barely scratched the surface of the problem at hand. Avatars had proven fertile, if barely so, with the Na'vi, but second-generation matings had been disastrous at best. Hybrids, it would seem, were not fertile with each other, at least in the first generation. As a scientist, Norm had been the first to point this out, he should have known better. The horrendous stillbirths from the first hybrid/hybrid mating had been terrible to witness for the clan, it was an omen that even Mo'at had cringed from, and she had witnessed much death over the years. All had agreed with the prohibition on such unions, none had even questioned the thing.

Getting to work right away, Norm had discovered that it would take at least two generations of matings between Avatars and pure-blooded Na'vi before the problem would work itself out. Until such time, no Avatar or first-generation hybrid was allowed to mate with another, they would mate only with the pure-blooded. Jake had expected some resistance from this, but not from his own daughter, not from Norm's son.

"Do you care nothing for the Omaticaya? Do you wish us to see more terrible things?" Neytiri asked, undaunted by Jake's relenting. "You saw what happened when this is done." It had cost one woman her life already, it had been a terrible, bloody sacrifice that nearly saw the clan torn asunder.

"Eywa has blessed our union." Tsa'met answered. Norm's son had been named for Pey'lal's father, fallen in the great battle with the Sky People, and at least according to Pey'lal, he was every bit as stubborn and thickheaded as the late warrior. Combine that with an intellectual grasp rivaling Norm's own, and you had a dangerous recipe for rebellious behavior. "Perhaps it will not be as before." The hunter continued, standing confidently next to his new lifemate, but Jake saw the twinge of fear in his eyes, facing down the entire clan's angry stares.

_Is this what Eytukan and Mo'at saw the day Neytiri and I declared our bond? _Jake wondered, but his lifemate wasn't done yet.

"You are both _skxawng._" She continued as Grace withered under her gaze. "You put your foolish desires over the good of all Omaticaya." Just as Jake thought his mate would strangle their only daughter, Neytiri smiled bravely through it all, trying to come to terms, trying to hope. "You are _skxawng, _Grace. Too much like your father."

_Crap, this isn't my fault, _Jake wanted to protest, but he kept silent. Grace had inherited his uncanny ability to get into sticky situations without his proven skill at extricating himself from them. She was beautiful beyond anything he had seen in the world, save for her mother, but behind those yellow eyes was a determined troublemaker, one with the natural strength of her mother but combined with all the dangerous curiosity only Sky People genes could have given her.

"Only Eywa knows what may happen. Were things different, I would have welcomed this. You both must pray to Eywa that it will not be as before, that your union is true. I hope it is..." And Jake meant it. The last hybrid mating had been an omen to the Omaticaya that perhaps former dreamwalkers and true Na'vi could not be as one. If such a thing happened to Grace, he did not know how he would handle it, if, indeed, he could at all. Love was a terrifying thing sometimes, it was a fear and a need, it was the understanding that your daughter held your heart in her hands, and a single foolish decision could crush it at any time.

Pey'lal was already tearing up in fear for Grace's life and her son's sanity, for who could see their lifemate taken from them so horribly? Few had ever seen the powerful huntress cry, and never in front of the clan. Norm tried to comfort his mate, laying a hand on her shoulder, whispering his apologies. She would have none of it, retreating alone into the forest to deal with her fear, vanishing into the undergrowth faster than an angry pack of _nantang_.

"Norm..." Jake began.

"Yeah, I know, Jake. I get it, okay?" He answered anxiously in English. That alone was proof of the turmoil in the scientist's mind, he rarely spoke anything but Na'vi anymore. Yet it was Trudy, leaning against her off-site container near Hometree, exopack firmly attached to her face, who truly captured the situation.

"Yep, that's Norm's son, alright. Only a Spellman could be that smart and that stupid at the same time." She quipped acidly, adjusting her homemade crossbow for another hunting expedition with the Omaticaya warriors. Jake could hardly disagree with that assessment, this was unintelligent design at its finest.


	8. Unknown Treasure

_Author's Note: This one is a bit longer than the other ones. I didn't intend for that to happen, but somehow that's just how the words flowed. I hope you enjoy.  
_

_**8. Unknown Treasure**_

_Earth Year: 2187 AD. 32 Years After Final Contact. _

Age crept upon her slowly, patiently, stalking her from afar yet slowly closing the distance with every passing day. Trudy felt it in her joints, in the sharpness of her mind, and in the loneliness of her heart. It nagged at her awareness, at a biological clock long unfulfilled.

Did she regret her decision to stay? The answer to that came quickly, a resounding negative echoing in her mind, a curse heaped upon the foulness of everything that poured forth from her former home. Trudy had never meant to become one with nature or any such thing, she only wanted to escape the reality of her upbringing, of her torn, ragged home world. Who could blame her for such a thing, the place was a death trap, a lingering stench leaking out into the universe. Maybe someday things would change, perhaps they already had, but she had possessed no desire to stick it out and wait for change that might never come.

Pandora's newness, its freshness, had been an opening for her, a place of refuge. It didn't have to be some mystical paradise, it just had to be _not-_Earth. Yet over the years her attachment to the planet had grown, slightly at first, far slower than the others. For them Pandora was the fulfillment of a dream, and as such she had envied them. But for her it was merely the end of a nightmare and it had taken her much longer to wake up to the majesty of the place.

She had, though, and the proof was cast out before her. Was she ready for this? Once she did the deed there would be no going back, no simple road back to her humanity. _But fuck, _she thought acidly, _I'm sick of wearing these fucking masks. _That, at least, was truth. And who could argue with a return to youth, relatively speaking?

"Right... let's get this shit over with." Trudy cursed, but there was a smile, an anticipation. At least this would be interesting.

Max hovered over her, the first to try such a procedure, his own guinea pig. Trudy admired that, it gave her a sense of hope, she could respect a man who put his money where his mouth was. The scientist had worked with the others stuck on Pandora without an Avatar, coming up with a sort of half-assed scheme that Norm had championed. The rest had gone through with it years ago, only she had resisted.

Growing an Avatar, they had told her a decade ago, was more a question of time and genetics than anything else. With the full resources of the old colony complex to devote to only one project, a solution had finally been found, though it had taken nearly two decades to come up with and another decade to grow. It wouldn't be some miracle solution, in fact it had been demonstrated that the bodies weren't fully usable with the psionic-link machine, but they were close enough for Eywa to fill in the gaps. This particular body had been slowly growing in her off-site container for over ten years. Every day she had woken up to a face that was not her own, yet was so haunting familiar.

It also wasn't some fountain of youth project, Eywa apparently wasn't in the business of switching bodies on a whim and never mind the limits of modern medical science. Her Avatar's physical age was something of a combination of her own and that of a newborn. She'd be going from a body in its early sixties to that of one effectively in its early thirties. Still, who could really complain about that? God knows she could afford to ditch some of these pesky joint-aches, and it had been ages since she had a good lay. Maybe Eywa would let her on through on account of that, it was important, after all.

The thought of _that_ quasi-mystical being filled her with dread. She had lived long enough among the Omaticaya to know that they were on to something, that this life-force really did exist in some fashion or another. Trudy wasn't sure this all knowing great mother, or whatever the fuck it was, would care much for her. Certainly her own parents hadn't even managed that, who could place bets on some mystical tree-brain's opinion of her?

"Calm yourself," Jake cautioned in English. Trudy supposed she'd have to start speaking Na'vi more often now. She'd learned the language well enough, but English was natural to her, it felt right. It had been even longer since she'd said anything other than a curse in Spanish.

"Yeah, I'm as calm as I'll ever be. You sure this hook up to the planet shit works?" Trudy asked.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Jake replied wryly, smiling. Neytiri was behind him, watching as the tendrils of the great tree-network reached for her, surrounding her in warmth. Jake's mate was deep in her trance as the Tsahik, communing with Eywa, asking for her help one last time.

Reality faded around Trudy as blackness crossed over her vision, the world becoming impossibly long, distorted in a dance of light before fading away completely. _Is this death? _She thought, the words echoing in the darkness. A part of her had always wondered what it was, what force had reached for her so many times, nearly taking her away.

War-torn Earth appeared in front of her, an epic vision of death and destruction. Dying jungle was everywhere around her as the Southern Alliance attacked her position, mortar rounds falling in a literal rain of flesh and dirt. Far in the distance the familiar outline of the mushroom cloud reached for the heavens, a tactical nuke detonating several miles away, destroying an entire enemy division in nuclear fire. Gunships strafed the forest around her, surface-to-air missiles lancing out to greet them, destroying several in a blaze of fiery death. And this was supposed to be a _minor _brush war.

Trudy gripped her rifle, clambering out of the wreckage of her gunship, blowing away a hostile just about to light her up like a goddamned Christmas tree. The weapon was a lifeline, her security blanket in this hellhole, and she clutched it tightly, rolling into a crater, gaining some cover against the so-called freedom fighters surrounding her position. Earth was a fucked up world, a place where eco-terrorists did as much damage to the jungles as the men they were fighting against.

"Panther Seven is down, request immediate extraction." She screamed into the radio, trying to make sense over the crashing of mortar rounds, the staccato of machine-gun fire.

"Negative Panther Seven, area is too hot. Hold position." Well that, at least, was true. Bush-fighters were everywhere out here, and they were extremely well armed and well equipped. She reached for a grenade, lobbing it over the crater rim, sending the advancing men scurrying for cover into the underbrush. _Yeah right, _she thought acidly, _hold position, sure and I suppose you want me to conjure up Santa Claus and all his fucking elves complete with AKs too. _She was dead, and she knew it.

But this wasn't how it was supposed to be, right? Suddenly she _remembered_ how this had all played out before. Relationships had been forbidden by the Corps, but she had let her emotions get the better of her anyway. Martin would disobey his orders and set down in the hot-zone, allowing her to escape at the cost of his own life. He would take a bullet in the chest, bleeding out slowly without even telling her, stuck alone in the cockpit as he saved her pathetic ass, all for the sake of some bullshit feeling.

"Was it bullshit, Trudy?" A voice asked. She recognized it with a twinge of anger. Her mother had abandoned her, unable to feed her family in the rapidly-collapsing economy. It had been easier to just abandon her to some orphanage than try and make ends meet. She had been eight on that fateful day when she had last seen her mother, a teary-eyed wreck giving up her most precious possession.

"It was all bullshit. All of it. Love is like some kind of sick fucking joke; it just gets you killed." Trudy answered.

She was on the streets of Los Angeles, a hell-hole burning in a full-scale riot. Flames licked up from downtown, a torrential fire-storm that gripped the super-metropolis in its fury. Terrorists had detonated a dirty-bomb, starting the disaster, covering the entire region in lingering radioactivity. Inhabitants panicked into the streets, exposing themselves to lethal doses that would kill them slowly and terribly. Some of the population had gone over to the mirth of rioting and looting, tearing apart what was left of the city and its suburbs. Her unit had been landed in full radiation gear to get the situation under control. She wasn't supposed to be shooting at her own people, was she? They didn't give her much choice, though, targeting the military as enemies, not saviors.

An ancient sports car flew by her, bullets streaming from the passengers inside, reaching for her life-blood. As the car skidded, brakes screeching even above the din of the panicking civvies, Trudy launched a grenade into the vehicle, turning it into a flaming missile. Momentum carried it straight into an apartment complex, the entire thing going up in the flame of a gas-leak explosion. Horror gripped her, fear for the lives inside, the children, the families that had lost their lives in a second of senseless violence over a bunch of fucking looters.

"Did you have a choice?" The mother-voice asked patiently.

"Yeah, sure, let those looting bastards shoot me and everyone else or shoot them back." She began. "It would have been easier to just let them kill me, I think."

The skies around her were tainted with columns of smoke reaching for the heavens, burning death consuming the living and the dead alike. An entire enemy armored brigade had somehow sneaked into Mexico and made their way over the border into Texas, burning the city of El Paso. Piles of ash descended from the skies over the city as the enemy surged forward against the ineffective resistance of the badly-outnumbered local National Guard forces. Bodies were strewn about everywhere amid the toppled towers and burnt-out automobiles. How many were dying down there? How many hadn't deserved it?

"Panther Seven, reporting. Enemy tank formation, just outside of city limits, along highway 10. Moving to engage." Rockets lanced from her gunship, bombarding the tanks, scoring several kills. A surface-to-air missile locked on to her from somewhere down below and she slammed the chopper to the side wildly, casting out flares to fool the missile. Tracer rounds kicked up around her, bullets pinging off of the air-frame, but she didn't care anymore. Part of her just wanted it to end, to just roll over and die, it would be so much easier than fighting in this hellhole day-after-fucking-day. More rockets lanced out from her gunship, covering the ground in flames, destroying city and enemy alike.

"I've seen this before." The mother-voice said. "Grace showed it to me, so did Jake and all others of your kind."

"Yeah? I suppose you're the great Eywa, and all that jazz." Trudy replied. "Why show me all of this? It was painful enough to live through then."

"I'm not bringing you here, you are." The mother-voice answered. "You are stuck here, you always have been."

"I didn't sign up for this shit." And she hadn't. Trudy had seen enough death, enough terrible suffering to have any desire to inflict more on an innocent tribe of primitives. Couldn't anyone see the fucking stupidity of it all? Behind her Samson, angling away from the one-sided conflict, Hometree fell to the pounding of an entire fleet of gunships, flame and ash reaching for the sky, bodies strewn about like snapped twigs. But she had refused to participate, that made it okay, right? The nagging doubt in her mind followed her, like a song stuck in your head, repeating itself endlessly.

"There's something to that, isn't there?" The mother-voice came back, everything fading to comforting black once again.

"What do you mean? Stop dancing in riddles." Trudy demanded.

"No riddles, Trudy Chacon. This is who you are."

Na'vi dueled with Quaritch's escorting gunships, the stench of death filling the air, flesh and flame mingling in a deadly ballet that played out all around her. A Scorpion danced in front of her, suddenly realizing she was gunning for him, panicking and shifting directly into her machine gun fire. Fire licked up from the gunship's rotors as bullets mangled the engine, oil and smoke mixing into a noxious foulness that filled the air. Already forgotten, she shifted to the next target, a pair of Na'vi riders taking her wing, burning a hole through the escorts flanking the massive drop shuttle. Tracer rounds were everywhere, rockets and bullets flying all around her, seeking her and yet never quite finding her. Every enemy was nothing more than a target, a machine laid in her sights, no longer fully human in her mind, just a thing piloting another thing. There was no time to think about what she was doing, to come to terms with the insanity of it all.

Jake's beast blew by her at high speed as the Dragon gunship emerged from behind the floating mountain, rocket-pods blazing, smoke trails reaching out for the man's Avatar body. Trudy knew his death would break the backbone of the Na'vi resistance, that with one blow Quaritch would demoralize the enemy and complete the objective, killing without remorse, without feeling. She knew what had to be done, breaking through the firefight even as her Na'vi wingmen fell to the forest below, streaming blood and flesh, adding to the long list of undeserved deaths she had witnessed. It was a duel to the death, a fight she would not wake up from. How could she even hope to win this? But it didn't matter, fire trading back and forth between the combatants with heated fury, even as Jake made good his escape. War paint glittered underneath her eyes as she thumbed the trigger, tearing holes in the mighty vessel. Fires were burning all over her chopper, a fearsome blaze that threatened to end her short, miserable life. "I'm sorry Jake." And she was, and for much more besides. Heat singed her body as her engine exploded in a fury of shrapnel and burning fuel.

"You can't control the universe but you can control yourself." It was her mother's voice, but she knew the entity for what it was.

"Yeah, well I did, right? I didn't kill your people. Fuck, I've fought assholes wanting to blow up the world for all of my life." Trudy replied.

"Yes you did. It's time you admitted it to yourself. You didn't do everything right, but you _tried _to. Isn't that worth forgiving yourself?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Trudy demanded.

"It doesn't. It matters to you." The mother-voice echoed. "You can't pass through until you know yourself."

"Okay, fuck, yes. I killed people. I destroyed things. The world isn't some goddamned lovely place full of butterflies and pink... things and shit. Damnit, I always tried to do the right thing. I'm sorry for everything that I fucked up. If you don't want to transfer me into this other body, or whatever, I don't give a flying fuck. Do whatever you want, you're the mother goddess and all that business. You want me dead, good for you, join the fucking club." Trudy felt the pressure in her mind, she felt as if tears would burst from her awareness, the walls of toughness crashing around her as she came to terms with her life, with all that had happened, good and bad.

"My child, I never wanted you dead. I wanted you to _live._" The voice changed, floating as if made of the wind, echoing around her, surrounding Trudy in its warmth and its love. "What good is hidden treasure, if it always remains buried?"

Eyes opened, focusing on the world around her, powerful in its majesty. New sights and sounds were everywhere, so much stronger than before. Even scents carried on the winds reached her now, the newness of it startling and rich. Breath came in great heaving gasps, filling her lungs not with poison but with life-giving air. For a moment she struggled with it, instinctively reaching for her exopack, until the realization dawned on her.

"Welcome back, Trudy." Jake was smiling over her, Neytiri right behind him, curiosity working its ways across her face. Omaticaya were everywhere, watching in stunned silence, as the last of the humans made the final leap into their world.

Trudy smiled, making a silent promise to herself and to this Eywa that she would let go of that terrible past. Memory didn't have to haunt her, it didn't have to plague her every time she shut her eyes. Pandora was so much more than merely _not-_Earth, it was her home, it was the place where she had finally found family again. It was the unknown treasure she had always been searching for. There just wasn't anymore need to live in that scorched past, so full of sorrow and death. Eywa had been right, she hadn't been living, she'd been breathing, going about the motions of life, only mimicking it. At least now she had time to change it, a chance to live so differently, a chance to live _right._

_Now, _she thought wryly as she stood, ignoring her old body, wobbling unfamiliar legs, _about that lay..._


	9. To Dream a Little Dream

_Author's Note: I appreciate the reviews thus far. Your kind words are motivation each day I write these._

_**9. To Dream a Little Dream**_

_Earth Year: 2156 AD. 1 Year After Final Contact. _

Life came to this, a singular moment in time that would be burned in his memory for the rest of his existence. How things had changed in a single year, barely any hint of remembrance remained for his old life, for the world from which he sprang. Everything had prepared him for this single event, leading inexorably to this place, to this day. Norm knew it as the fulfillment of a dream, something his heart had always yearned for even though he had never known it until now.

For many, existence was about some grand purpose, some great epitaph written on a tombstone someplace that said 'yes, I was worth something.' Nothing of the kind had ever motivated Norm, his life wasn't an etching in stone, it was a feeling of rightness, the understanding that he had a true home. The Omaticaya had given him this, it was ironic that he had to travel light-years across stars to find such a simple purpose.

Pandora's skies were clear today, sun streaming from above, warming his pale-blue skin, reaching for his heart. _Ikran_ calls could be heard in the distance, the sounds of this fresh, unspoiled world reaching him, bringing a smile to his face every time he awoke in this body. There was worry there too, mixing with just a touch of fear. But how could he be afraid for his lifemate when she was so strong, possessing of such an iron will? Pey'lal failed at nothing she truly wished to succeed at, she was a hunter, a warrior, a lover.

"The time approaches." Mo'at observed casually. As the wisest among the Omaticaya, it was her duty to oversee the birthing, that all should go according to the will of Eywa. Norm had read that Na'vi births were less strenuous than human ones, their larger size and stronger bodies handling the strain with far less risk to the mother. Still, there were exceptions, and this would be the first birth with an Avatar body as the father. _Funny,_ Norm thought, _I never considered that I'd actually manage to reproduce._ Trudy, at least, had derived endless amusement from the situation.

"A virgin geek on an alien planet, and you still managed to score. Good for you, bitch." Trudy had told him, though technically speaking he hadn't been a virgin, there had been that incident with one of the scientists just prior to his departure from Earth. Trudy had insisted since this body of his hadn't been there, it didn't count. _Well she can shut up now,_ he thought wryly. Not that his skill with women had anything to do with his relationship with Pey'lal. The huntress had pursued _him_, something all too common among Na'vi women, and when she set out to do something, she certainly didn't know how to fail at it. Sometimes he wondered if the pilot was just jealous, for she certainly wasn't getting any these days.

"Nor-men." The voice was beautiful, it never ceased to amaze him. Euphoria flared through the bond, like a drug, a pressing need to be close to her.

Pey'lal's hand reached for his as it began, and he felt the softness of her skin, staring into her eyes for a brief moment, words completely useless at conveying the depth of emotion. That was a thing he was still getting used to, the bond was overwhelming when physically connected, but a shadow of it remained even after. Norm could feel the flow of her thoughts, he could pick up on her moods just by reaching out to her in his mind. The reverse was also true, much to his occasional discomfort. Mo'at waved him back as she set to work and Norm scrambled aside. Part of him didn't really want to watch this part anyway, certainly it was weird enough with humans. Leaning against Hometree's flank, he twitched nervously, his nerves beginning to fray.

"So, how does it go?" Jake asked his friend. Certainly he had a vested interest in seeing how all of this went down, given Neytiri's own fast-approaching due date.

"Well, I think. It's not like I've ever done this before." Norm pointed out.

"What, you mean you didn't cross the universe in a past life and mate with an alien?" Jake replied in English.

"You know what I mean," the scientist replied seriously.

"Yeah, but you've gotta lighten up, Norm. I mean hell, you've got this whole parenthood thing to look forward to." Jake answered, ignoring the scientist's eye-roll.

"I'll remember that when you go through this." Norm answered quickly, but he began to smile. "It is... new."

"Yeah, it is that." Jake agreed.

"Hey, don't I need a cigar or something?" Norm continued.

"Good luck with that, if there were any left on base, Trudy got to them already. Besides, that's just _wrong. _I mean, ever see Na'vi on a smoking ad?" Jake teased.

"I suppose not. Did you know that idiot Parker actually suggested that once? Told me if they didn't want roads and medicine, maybe they'd want cigs." The scientist laughed even as he felt the tension through the bond, the anticipation. The child would come soon, one way or another. Fear, joy and anticipation stirred together into some kind of emotional disaster in his mind, but Jake continued to distract him.

"Imagine that, a Na'vi Marlboro man," Jake began, doing a poor imitation of a holo-band commercial. "Real_ ikran _riders smoke menthol lights, the best cigarette on any planet!"

"Grace might actually have agreed with that." Norm laughed, releasing some of the pent-up tension within, remembering the chain-smoking scientist's cavalier attitude. How she would have wanted to be here today, it would have been the culmination of her life's work to bring Na'vi and human together. Perhaps she was seeing this, in her own way, a part of Eywa, a part of the very planet underneath his feet. For his part, Jake frowned, suddenly realizing exactly where Norm's mind had gone.

"It's okay, Jake. You of all people know she's still out there..."

"Yeah. You know, I never cared much for people's approval. But Grace? Somehow I _wanted_ her to like me, to realize I wasn't just some empty idiot waving a rifle around." Jake added solemnly. "Never really got the chance."

"That's not what she told me," the scientist answered. "When you were in the link, she'd say stuff about 'that damned marine' with a heart bigger than his damn-fool brain. Coming from her, that's a pretty big compliment."

"Probably... But now's not the time to dwell on that. You're about to become a father..." Jake replied.

"I think I just did..." Norm answered, feeling a rush of emotion across his bond with Pey'lal, a warmth of pure love wrapping around him like a thick blanket on a frigid night. Cries could be heard over the sounds of the forest, echoing everywhere as Omaticaya stirred from the depths of Hometree, curiously peering outward for any sign of success.

It was Mo'at who spoke first as Norm approached. "Eywa has blessed you with a son, strong and healthy." Before the scientist could reply, she pricked him with her knife, drawing the blood across her tongue in the traditional manner. _Damnit that hurts_, Norm thought, _I hate it when she does that. _"He will be a great hunter among the People," she finished, nodding to Jake in turn.

As the priestess vanished, her job done, Norm approached his lifemate, holding their son in her arms, tears of joy streaming from her cheeks. Omaticaya watched from afar, eyes fastened on the scene playing out before them, each silently welcoming the child into the clan.

"My Nor-men." Pey'lal whispered.

"What should we name him?" Norm asked, reaching for the tiny blue figure, gently feeling the wet skin, waves of euphoria and love translating through the bond. Everything else had been forgotten in this moment, all thoughts vanished, the center of his universe here, in front of him. Pey'lal smiled weakly, recovering from the birthing, her eyes blinking softly in the morning sun.

"He will be strong, but also wise, like his father..."

"Let us name him for your father." Norm offered. "Tsa'met sacrificed much to free the People, it should be remembered." It felt right, to name him thus, it was one human tradition that Na'vi also shared, the passing on of names over the generations. Maybe it was the influence of the bond, or maybe he was just going soft, but Norm knew the importance of it. Pey'lal smiled at this, nodding gently, cradling their newborn son in her arms.

"Tsa'met..." She cooed gently. For Norm, it was so strange to hear her speak so softly, so lovingly. His mate was a great huntress, a warrior that could pile-drive him to the ground any time she really felt like it. Yet he had always known this about her, through the bond nothing could be hidden. He felt the core of softness, of intense feeling that truly defined her. That's what he truly loved about her, though it certainly didn't hurt that she could hold her own against an angry pack of _nantang._ For just this one moment, she allowed all to see her as she really was, but soon things would be as before, that hidden reservoir of emotion hidden once again, where only he could find it.

Soon the scientist found the tiny blue figure wrapped in his arms, the child already closing his eyes in a fitful sleep. As Norm lost himself in the strange sensation of joy that crept up his spine, almost against his will, one thought echoed in his mind. So many men stared up at the sky over the centuries, searching for endless power, fame and wealth that would never come. They wanted so much out of life, striving for a happiness that would never find them. The entire universe could never fulfill such wants. His life may have been small by comparison, but there was truth in it. _I dreamed such a little dream, but here it is, in my arms._


	10. Original Sin

_Author's Note: I took an awful risk with this one, and I'm not sure how all of you will take it, but this has been a scene floating around in my head ever since I first saw the movie. At least to me, it makes sense, it explains so many details in the movie. I suppose it's time to put it into words. Please, let me know what you think.  
_

_**10. Original Sin**_

_Earth Year: 2209 AD. 54 Years After Final Contact._

Despite everything, he had never stopped learning, theories and ideas twisting around in his mind like a tornado of thought. Norm's body had lost much over the years, growing soft and weak, losing its edge. Yet his mind remained as it always had, powerful and strong, always inquisitive. Faint glimmerings of truth had been discovered by man long ago, but how little he had known in those days. Eywa _saw_, though, that much was certain. Even the Na'vi themselves hovered just on the edge of the truth, grasping instinctively what they could not wrap their minds around. It had taken him many years to be certain of this, but no more doubts remained to him.

Eywa was not natural, at least not in the evolutionary sense. Neither was most of the Pandoran ecology, for that matter. Xenobiologists had endlessly debated the subject on old Earth, trying to understand how such a bizarre ecosystem could arise naturally. Yet they had not known about Eywa, they hadn't connected to the world-consciousness for themselves. Well, it was time for answers, Norm had decided, it was time to truly _see._

All around him, the Tree of Souls seemed restless, as if it had long awaited this moment and was ready to divulge its secrets at last. Norm reached for his queue, connecting, feeling, understanding. It was different this time though, Eywa knew why he had come...

"I see you." Norm thought. In such a deep connection, his thoughts acquired speed, the words acquired sound.

"_And I see you."_ A voice replied. It was a familiar sound, a comforting warmth that surrounded him in the darkness. _"I know why you have come, Norman Spellman."_

"I suppose you do. I must understand you." Norm replied. "It is why I exist, to learn, to know."

"_I know this, my child." _The voice began, light flooding his awareness. _"You are ready. You will learn. You will see."_

Images bombarded his mind, memories that were not his own, flying by at impossible speed, like an old tape recorder stuck in fast forward. Soon, the ancient memory slowed, voices echoing in his mind, through the bond with Eywa. Norm _saw _at long last._  
_

Great towers stretched toward the gas giant above, impossibly high, covered in shimmering metal. He recognized the glow of electric light, the glimmerings of ground cars flying by at impossible speed. Aircraft flew overhead, so similar and yet not of any recognizable human design. All around were tall, blue-skinned Na'vi, queue-less, dressed in clothing strange and yet familiar at the same time. Rockets stretched into the bounds of space, reaching for the heavens.

"_The People were once as your kind."_ The voice began. _"War came."_

That, at least, was familiar. Mushroom clouds extended into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, fallout blowing along the winds, cities aflame with nuclear fire. Somehow Norm _knew_ toxic particulates had fallen across the planet, killing most of the planet's ecosystem. An even more terrible weapon detonated, reaching into the crust of the planet, something so powerful there was nothing he could compare it too. Rock melted and reformed into great chunks of unobtainium, cooling rapidly, floating in half-molten chunks in the magnetic field of the flux. Well that answered one of the more bizarre questions humanity always had. Unobtainium was the residue of some powerful weapon, the remnants of a terrible conflict so far back in Pandoran history, the planet bore no other signs of its occurrence.

"_A weapon nearly killed all. Those who remained knew things must change, before the People were lost forever."_

Weathered ancient scientists clustered around the nascent tree-form they had created, now recognizable as the Tree of Souls, nurturing it, feeding it with endless data, the records of an entire civilization. Na'vi children played with familiar creatures, precursors to the Pandoran wildlife to come, connecting their newly engineered queues, bonding with the life around them. The adolescents smiled, happily ignorant of the nature of the wrecked world about them even as the scientists turned their backs on them, vanishing into the ash-filled world beyond.

"_Competition. Evolution. Grace showed me this, it is how all life must begin. Someday, the competition must end, before it results in the destruction of all. This was a rebirth."_

"How long since those days?" Norm asked

"_There is no counting that much time."_

"The People do not remember?"

"_They remember, in their hearts."_

"Then who are you?"

"_No one. Every one."_

"Can Earth be saved?"

"_Already, your people split in two. Some have taken to the stars, and there they will stay. Others remain behind, like the People. This is the way of things."_

Somehow Norm _saw_ Earth as it would be someday, the great orbital factories assembling into massive space-stations, star-ships reaching for every corner of the universe. Behind, Earth's people tended to the great farms, some turning their backs on the technological world entirely, merging back into the ancient hunter-gatherer way-of-life from which they sprang. The scientist in Norm recognized the strange evolutionary pattern at work, watching as tiny, hidden queues developed on them, too. Eywa communed with the essence of herself growing on Earth, the tiny seeds sent home having sprouted into a tiny network of trees, a nascent incarnation of the life-force.

"_This is the way of the People."_

Blue-skinned scientists and refugees fled to the safety of a massive metal structure that began to shake as it lifted off. A single, battered Na'vi star-ship, primitive even by Earth standards, vanished into the Pandoran sky. It left the recovering world behind to an uncertain fate, taking the essence of original sin with them. The growing adolescents looked on in awe at the rocket reaching for the heavens, knowing in their hearts that the old ones would never return. They grasped spears and bows, forsaking the technological wreckage around them, merging with the growing forests slowly taking over the landscape.

"Somewhere out there, Na'vi live in space?"

"_Nothing is known of them, for they have never returned. Someday it will be the same for your people." _Warmth flooded the bond, assuring Norm that he had served both peoples well, that there was no more reason for him to search endlessly for answers he no longer needed. Eywa loved him, she loved all of the life around herself, it was her sole purpose, her one reason for existing. Life wasn't supposed to be easy, and it never was on Pandora, but it was supposed to have purpose, to be a thing enjoyed and not scorned. Unlike humanity, the life-force had no need to dwell in the distant past and neither did her people. They lived for each day, fresh and unspoiled yet challenging and true. Was there a better way to live? Perhaps for some, but they would make their home in the stars. Norm's home was here, in the simple but beautiful world that surrounded him.

"_You are one of the People, Norman Spellman. There is no more need to worry about such things."_

With that comment echoing in his mind, Eywa disconnected from him, leaving him alone with his thoughts once again. He thought he had known, that he could _see, _but had understood only the faintest glimmerings of the truth. Life on Pandora was a balance, a carefully maintained existence in harmony with itself, yet created in such a way that no one lost their individuality, their freedom of will, to live and grow as they pleased. No one would claim it to be an easy life, you did have to hunt your own food and sometimes that food hunted you back, all modern conveniences were gone too, but it was still fulfilling in its own way.

The price was a heavy one, a complete break with all high technology, an end to the never-ending quest for scientific knowledge. Yet for him, science had been a means to an end, a journey to bring him here, to this realization. For Norm, joy was the thrill of the hunt, the rush of soaring through the skies, the warmth of the morning sunlight, the love of his mate and his children. If that wasn't what life was about, what else could it be? Eywa had shown him, that he might understand his own life and make peace with his choices. Norm vowed never to question them again. It didn't matter anyway, someday he would rest within Eywa, a part of him remaining always in the world he loved. For a moment he toyed with the idea of telling the others what he had learned, but it was as Eywa had told him. In their hearts, they already knew.


	11. A Final Avatar

_Author's Note: This is my own take on Parker's fate on Earth. It's a little twisted, I know, but I couldn't help myself. Enjoy._

_**11. A Final Avatar**_

_Earth Year: 2160 AD. 5 Years After Final Contact. Arrival of ISV Venture Star in Earth Orbit._

For him, only moments had passed since that terrible day. He could still smell the scent of death about him, the tang of the Pandoran air that had saturated his clothing. Failure clung to him stronger than any other thing, firmly attached to every facial expression, every thought pouring through whatever remnants of sanity remained in his mind. Fear gripped Parker's heart, the ramifications of all that had happened coming down on him in that single moment between cryogenic awakening and full consciousness.

Some small corner of the Administrator's mind registered that no one had sabotaged his cryo tube in transit, a thing he might have actually welcomed at this juncture. Dead, the Company could do him no harm, but alive, there was much they could do. Armed men knocked on the chamber door, motioning him out of the womb-like contraption, away from relative safety.

"You are to follow us, sir." The first soldier ordered without the slightest hint of emotion. These were businessmen of a different sort, the kind that measured success in body count instead of profit-and-loss statements. These were people who would happily shoot him just for the sheer amusement of it. It had been an unofficial Company policy to hire only the worst sort of people out of the military factions of Earth. Decorated, respected veterans were routinely overlooked in favor of the rarer, but more useful, aggressive psychopaths.

Such men asked fewer questions about the Company's dirty work, after all, and some of them truly enjoyed their jobs, like that idiot Quaritch. They were also cheaper, but RDA's tight budgets hadn't helped much on Pandora. A modern jet fighter or two would have taken care of everything, but no, the Company couldn't have spared that expense. Some small corner of Parker's mind realized that he, too, had fallen into the Company mold. Had he not been in such a hurry to get to the unobtainium deposits, perhaps things could have been thought through a little better. It was the closest he had ever come to admitting his own failures.

"Where are we going?" He asked simply.

"Headquarters. The President asked for you personally." The officer stated without any hint of emotion.

Parker's mind was a wreck as he pulled himself along the connecting cables to the outer airlock, following the soldiers with just a twinge of fear. They wouldn't kill him here, in front of everyone else, where the news media could pick up on it. No, if he was to be 'Sanctioned,' it would be elsewhere, further out of sight.

Sanctions were once an administrative form of punishment, designed to financially ruin, denying the ex-employee a job at any of the other large corporations, blacklisting them forever. Loans would be denied, property would be confiscated and typically the Sanctioned would just crawl off into a hole somewhere and die, wind up living on the streets, or take their own lives. Company policy had changed these last few decades, however, taking a much more proactive approach. The Sanctioned often simply disappeared or went completely bat-shit crazy, and if anyone on Earth noticed, evidence would be provided assuring the public that the employee committed suicide out of guilt over the failure. Some asked questions, of course, but money handled most of the idealists. Threat of Sanction kept even the most obnoxious employees in line.

Valkyrie fifteen disconnected from the massive starship, angling towards RDA headquarters, the largest space station in Earth orbit. It was certainly a lot easier to keep your employees in line when you were no longer bound by the laws of Earth governments. The station was enormously expensive, relying on the critical unobtainium for power relays from its fusion core. Just the raw material value of the station exceed the GDP of half of the nations on Earth. It certainly made for a great Company advertisement, a sign of financial health that probably no longer existed in the wake of recent events.

"Come with us." A soldier waved his rifle, forcing the Administrator through the airlock at gun point. Artificial gravity had kicked in slowly as they worked their way through the transit hub into the habitation ring. RDA Headquarters had been designed on the old centrifugal hub and spoke principle, allowing docking in the relatively stable, zero-g axis, using mag-lev transit elevators to deliver men and materials to the .5g outer ring. Something close to ten square miles of habitable space existed within the ring, allowing for a veritable city in space.

"No, elevators one and two are down, we will be using three." The guard directed him to the sole functional tube. As if to punctuate the statement, sparks flew from behind the tube doors of elevator one, charring the once-pristine metal surface.

Parker half expected to still see the immaculate offices of Headquarters, staffed with only the best and brightest, overseeing the Company's vast empire in space and on land. The station could support nearly ten thousand, consisting of great apartment complexes, company offices and in the center of it all, the spire marking Executive Block, the true heart of RDA.

The place was practically abandoned. Half of the structures within the Ring were dark, powerless and no longer functioning. Some structures actually showed evidence of burning and graffiti, something that would have been unthinkable during any other time. Executive Block still shown with blazing light, though, and as he entered, he expected to see at least a reduced workforce working diligently to restore RDA's fortunes.

Things had fallen apart here too, however. Men and women scurried back and forth with boxes, computers and file folders. Discarded papers drifted along the air-circulation currents, trash was piled up everywhere. There were actual bullet holes in some offices, burnt out cubicles and bloodstains marring the surface of what should have been the great administrative offices of the Company. Lights flickered on and off in many areas, sparks lighting up from several ill-maintained power cords jury-rigged over the abandoned cubicles.

"What the hell happened here?" Parker asked as the soldiers escorted him through the mayhem.

"Layoffs. Some riots. Someone smuggled in a rifle. It wasn't pretty." The first soldier stated dispassionately. The RDA signage over the executive area lay askew on the ground, burn marks scarring the surface. That no one had replaced the sign boded ill for the Company's future.

"President Raines will see you now." The officer waved his gun absently at Parker, making brief eye contact. In a moment of weakness, the military man exposed his own deep-seated fear. Even such a hard man had to have a family somewhere, or at least a need to feed himself. Times had been bad even when he had left for Pandora, now they were obviously truly disastrous. The guards didn't even bother following him in.

In here, at least, it was still luxurious and pristine, an island of wealth in a sea of poverty. Persian rugs framed a mahogany desk, lifted from Earth at enormous expense. Behind, an actual Picasso painting graced the wall, anchoring a set of equally valuable works from every corner of the globe. Banks of holo-band monitors were everywhere, each tuned in to one of Earth's reporting services, streaming live Internet data. Chaos was everywhere, burning cities, rioting people on the brink of starvation, brush wars threatening to explode into nuclear conflict.

In the center of this island of luxury was President Raines, an old and graying figure who somehow still bore a certain aura of raw power no amount of age could fully erase. Lines were etched on his face, the product of decades of frowns and scowling. His piercing blue eyes shone brightly with barely restrained malice, anger seething underneath the seemingly calm and collected exterior. Parker visibly gulped.

"Parker Selfridge. Do you remember what I told you in this office fifteen years ago?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Well let's go over it again, shall we?" Raines began, his gruff voice echoing oddly in the relative silence. "Keep the supply of unobtainium flowing, and you will receive great reward and an appointment to the Board in due time. Fail, and there will be Sanctions."

"Yes sir, but..." Parker began, but the old man interrupted him angrily.

"But you let your dog Quaritch off his leash and started an interstellar war with a bunch of savages instead." Raines stated, his expression telling Parker in no uncertain terms that there would be no arguing on this point. "No matter. Your death will not be necessary at this time."

"I don't understand?" Parker nonetheless breathed a sigh of relief. There might be some hope of saving his skin yet. Perhaps some of the other survivors had told different tales? Maybe the Company wouldn't pin him with all the blame, after all, hadn't it been Quaritch who had done the real damage? Even as adept as he was at lying to himself, Parker couldn't make himself believe it. He had never wanted to kill women, children or even the damn trees, but profit was profit, and he had wanted that seat on the Board so badly. For a moment he almost tasted it, the path of promotion that might have led him to the very seat Raines presently occupied. But it was all a nightmare now, the only thing he would receive with any degree of certainty would be terrible dreams and lingering guilt for the rest of his life, however long that would prove to be.

"The Company has filed for bankruptcy protection from the United States government." Raines announced, that bombshell dropping like a Valkyrie piercing the atmosphere. "Extra-solar operations have been terminated, effective immediately. Believe me, it was difficult not to simply Sanction you out of the nearest airlock for your incompetence, but times have changed." Something in the President's voice conveyed just how much he would relish such an event.

"Then why am I here?"

"The Board has decided on a more appropriate Sanction for you." Raines smiled sadistically, and Parker knew immediately that he was in for something uniquely terrible.

"For once the Board and I agreed on something. According to inbound transmissions from ISV _Capital Star,_ still in transit behind you, this Jake Sully in your Avatar program found a way to permanently transfer his consciousness into his Avatar. Some of our scientists thought there might be value in this, and as it stands now the bio-research division is the only profit-center left." Raines explained almost gleefully.

"So we used DNA from your last Company physical to set up a little experiment. Yours will be the first test of the new mental-transference technology we have developed. If it fails, we are only less a single fool. But if it succeeds, imagine the profit in being able to grow replacement bodies for the wealthy. Of course, they will have proper _human _bodies grown for them. For you, we have something much more appropriate."

Parker could say nothing, frozen in inaction, fear creeping up his spine. The President stood up, hands clasped behind his back as he began to pace, toying with the holo-band monitors. An image formed on the holo-screens, a massive Na'vi body with a face that was not unlike Parker's own. The Administrator could hardly even speak, somehow knowing exactly what fate had been planned for him. Company Sanctions had a reputation for being a uniquely tailored form of punishment, a terrible thing reserved for only the worst offenders.

"Perhaps you will enjoy living in the body of a savage, but I doubt it. Imagine a lifetime without any sex, with mocking laughter from every street corner. Certainly, everyone will recognize you as humanity's biggest joke, no matter where you choose to go. You will never be able to hide from your failures." Raines laughed, calling in the guards once again. "Parker Selfridge, you are hereby terminated from RDA employment effective immediately. Sanctions are pending."

"Take him away." Raines smiled, sitting back in his chair. The soldier's face registered a certain amount of compassion, unusual for a grunt, but Parker knew the man would do his duty. Even though it was a physical impossibility over the distance of several light years, Parker could swear he heard Jake Sully's roaring laughter in the back of mind. The irony of it all couldn't be greater.


	12. I've Seen It All

_**12. I've Seen It All**_

_Earth Year: 2227 AD. 72 Years After Final Contact._

Life always balanced on the edge of a finely sharpened razor, Pandora was no exception. Life among them had never been easy, yet it was strangely fulfilling. Back on old Earth, one spent entire days bored and shiftless, with simply _nothing_ to do. That was never the case here, where even the most basic principles of survival were difficult, requiring endless effort.

Perhaps that was why Jake had come to love this place, why he had come to love _her. _Yet the cost had been great, and he bore them in the form of many scars, old wounds that acted up now and again, joints that just didn't work like they were supposed to. Did it really matter, though? The forest was as beautiful as it had ever been, so full of life, the natural unpredictability of it a blessing and a curse at the same time. Never was that more apparent than today, with Neytiri before him, her last moments nearly upon her.

All of the Omaticaya were watching, it was the tradition for an Elder who lay at the roots of Eywa, as the old Na'vi saying went. The forest was a dangerous place, and those who survived to pass on of _age_ demanded the highest form of respect. Jake tried to reason with it in his mind, she was not _dying_, not in the human sense, she was transferring, becoming one with Eywa. The soul known as Neytiri would continue onward, always in his heart, always connected to his own soul. But that didn't help in the slightest, perhaps it even made the dread worse...

**

...Neytiri could feel his thoughts almost as if they were her own. She knew Jake had never entirely grown used to that intimate connection, part of him always resisted it, if only a little. But he lay open to her now, the walls built around his thoughts crumbling. Neytiri knew that for him, this was a form of nakedness, a vulnerability all of the old dreamwalkers struggled with. It hurt to feel his anguish, the dreaded anticipation of her end battling the need to be with her, to remain content in their final moments together.

It had been months since the sickness of age had weighed upon her, and at first she had fought it like all other things in her life. Soon, it became apparent that the battle could not be won, it was a fight all were doomed to lose eventually. Yet it was not a hopeless thing, already she could feel the echoes of Eywa all around her, a comforting warmth that began to embrace her, offering a love that was almost as strong as the feelings emanating from her mate.

"I feel Ewya, Jake." She whispered. A tear started to form underneath his eye, but he blinked it away, trying to replace it with a smile he didn't really feel.

"Then you must become one, to live in Eywa." It was a traditional Na'vi saying to one on the verge of death, and it illustrated just how far Jake had become one with the Omaticaya. He didn't even think like a Sky Person any more. When he had ascended to the leadership of the clan, many had questioned if he was truly Na'vi enough to lead them. None had questioned that in a very long time.

"There is no need for sorrow, my Jake. We all live, in Eywa. Always." She struggled to smile, the pain in her body threatening to make her cry out. The time was upon her, there was not much of it left. The warmth of Eywa grew as she felt herself almost floating away. There was the life-force of her mate, struggling to hold on to her. There was the love and respect of her clan, coming at her in waves, like those that crashed against the cliffs of the eastern sea. The pain began to lift away with her awareness, but she struggled to hold on just a moment longer. There was something Jake had to know, had to hear from her lips.

"My Jake, I am happy. You have shown me much. There is no asking for more."

"No, you are the one who has shown me everything." Came the reply. She knew he could feel her slipping away, and the tears he fought began to flow unbidden, it was no longer possible for him to control them. Rather than spend their last moments as such, she reached weakly for his queue, forming the bond once more...

**

…To Jake it felt like an eternity compressed into a single moment. They didn't need words for this, he could feel her as if they were one. There was a sadness there, in Neytiri's thoughts, but it wasn't for herself. She truly _was_ happy, satisfied at a life well-lived, a purpose achieved. Her sadness was for him, knowing he would remain behind, alone for the first time in so long. _Remember, I am always with you, a part of Eywa, in the trees, in the air. When you call upon me, I will be there, until we are together again. _

Time was running slow until it ended. Jake was there as her last thoughts faded away, as the comforting warmth of the bond grew colder, as her soul left this vessel of flesh and bone, fading into the world around them. A thought came to him then, something Norm always used to say. _Energy is never created or destroyed, it is only transformed._ In that moment, he knew the truth of it, feeling Neytiri's love merge with the world around them, with the great world-consciousness of Eywa. One final thought echoed through the fading bond, and he couldn't be sure if it was his or his mate's, but it was there, erupting in the turmoil of his mind. _This is our dream, I've seen it all._

"Our Tsahik is with Eywa now." He choked, trying to keep his voice from cracking in front of the others. Many _atokirina_ descended from the forest canopy, almost mobbing her body, a great sign of respect from Eywa, a sign that could not be mistaken. There were tears among the others, a combination of despair and respect, of contentment and satisfaction. It was tradition that the closest to the dead must begin the dig, the transference to Eywa, giving the soul a proper sendoff to the great mother. Jake was able to begin, but soon fell weary, in spirit and body, unable to bear it.

"Olo'eytkan, I will help you." It was Norm's son, Tsa'met. His hands met the dirt, helping him shovel great piles of it away.

"Father, I am here." It was his daughter, Grace. Soon his entire extended family was helping to move the soil for the burial. But it did not end there. There was no stopping the flood of hands come to help.

"For Tsahik, I will help." Another said solemnly.

Many others came forward, each lending a hand, even as the _atokirina _flew above her still-warm body, vanishing into the forest. One remained behind, bobbing faithfully, waiting. For Jake, it was a bookmark to his life. Once he had stood in front of the clan, as each touched his shoulder, all interconnected, all welcoming him as one of the People. Today it was the same, all touched him, all helped him, all were there for him. They were there for Neytiri, for him and for all Omaticaya who had come before them. It was well that they were, for no matter what tradition among the Na'vi might dictate, there was no way he could have buried her himself. He could witness anything that life might choose to show him, except for this, for the soil covering his lifemate.

When all was done, Jake silently slipped away from the clan, to the one place he needed to be. Maybe someday soon, the need wouldn't be so pressing, so absolutely irresistible. But tonight, at least, there was no choice in the matter, his heart had already set the destination. The Tree of Souls came into view, the anticipation, the need to confirm everything that he had known, overwhelming him. As he connected into it, he felt peace come over him, Eywa's warmth and love trying to wash away the pain. But in the end, the great mother could do nothing for him. It was Neytiri's voice in his mind, the feeling of their bond, that quieted his mind again, restoring the flow of his thoughts.

_I am with you now, Jake._

**

_**Author's Note: **I apologize for the negative nature of this chapter, but it is a thing I wanted to explore, how Jake would handle her eventual death and merge with Eywa. So many have this ideal image of Pandora and the Na'vi, how everything is perfect. It's not, nor should it be, the true appeal of their lifestyle is its simplicity and the ethics of a hard working people. It isn't some magical fantasy where all is happy. _

_Even if we allow for the fact that disease is uncommon among the Na'vi (I take that view, since Eywa seems very benevolent about such things), Pandora is still a dangerous world. A Toruk might eat you, a pack of nantang might injure you, you may fall from the branches or your body may simply fail of old age. And unlike the high-tech world, there's a lot less a person can do about it. If anything, the Na'vi take a very casual view of this, doing high-risk stuff all the time, like taming banshees. So I take the view that Na'vi live high-risk, but adrenaline filled, satisfied, full lives. _

_Jake still sees it from a (slightly) human perspective. For Na'vi, death is less of a funeral and more of a sending off, giving them a sort of quasi-immortality as part of Eywa. So it is less sad for them, but they know Jake feels differently, and thus they help him along more, perhaps, than one who was born into the tribe. It makes sense, I think._

_As always, let me know what you think. Your thoughts are very important to me and to the direction I take my stories in the future._


	13. Turn My Silver Into Gold

_**Author's Note:** You would have to read Pandora's Hope, one of my other fics, to catch the significance of the 'knife' scene in this story._

_**13. Turn My Silver Into Gold**_

_Earth Year: 2261 AD. 106 Years After Final Contact. Year of Second Landing._

Each day was a blur, of memories merging with the world around him like a dream that never ended. They were the incoherent ramblings of a man whose mind had long since dulled, yet retained the memories of an impossibly long lifetime. Behind those ancient eyes, memories of skyscrapers and freeways were one with the forest and the blue-skinned people he had come to love. _Ikran_ and aircraft glided through the skies of two worlds, impossibly distant yet together in his memory. Through it all was her face, the image of his long-dead lifemate shimmering in his mind, the one constant in his confused existence. Sometimes even her name eluded him, but the warmth was familiar, she was important somehow. It was a thing his mind sometimes forgot, but his heart always remembered.

Years had passed since he had made any real sense to the clan, his confusion had become an accepted part of life, the ramblings in two languages considered part of Eywa's incomprehensible will. There were burdens on the clan, the need to hunt for one who could barely stand. None complained, for who could argue with such an ancient figure who still drew breath? Even in the oldest songs, few lingered on for so many seasons. He had become such a fixture to the Omaticaya that life without his consistent, if confusing, presence was anathema to them.

_Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up._ The words echoed in his consciousness like an electric shock, the immensity of them breaking through the constant haze. His entire life had been a mixture of dream and reality, of two bodies and one soul, of a life long so long it was difficult to even remember the beginning. Eyes blinked as if awakening for the first time in many years, taking in the changing world around him.

Omaticaya bustled about him, the morning hunt about to begin, warriors preparing their bows, sharpening their knives and discussing the movement of the herds. It was good to see such things again, how he missed the hunt, the thrill of sailing through the skies, the suspense of the trails. It had been so long since he had last flown, last felt her presence in his mind. _Neytiri._ The word came to him and he smiled softly, remembering the warmth of their bond, the love no one else could truly fathom. They had been so different, and yet so alike, a contradiction mirrored only by the two bodies he had once inhabited. It felt _good_ to remember, to feel his thoughts acquire speed, his body feel alive again.

A great booming sound thundered through the air, scattering the assembled hunters, but Jake ignored it, clambering up from his seat, leaning weakly on his cane. As the others hissed at the offending explosion, Jake's face drew towards the heavens, his eyes focusing on the contrails of an incoming dropship, shock traveling down his spine. Another sonic boom echoed, a second shuttle descending from the clouds at high speed, leveling out above Hometree. All knew the legends of the Sky People, of course, many had even seen the twisted ruins the forest had reclaimed, but so few ever actually expected to see them.

"_Tawtute."_ Jake whispered in awe, the sharpness of his mind returning to him. Memories came unbidden into his awareness, buried long before the haze of age had descended over him. Yes, he had once been human, walked upon the streets of Earth, so far away, so long ago. It was there that he had fought so many battles, until a bullet in the spine had ended it all. There, he had watched the still form of his brother vanish into the flaming furnace.

Pleasant memories were there too, images of open fields yet unspoiled by the fighting. Wind flew by him as he ran, his twin trying so hard to keep up. But then Tom had never been able to say with him, even as he couldn't compete with that immense intellect. He was not his brother, but a part of him still lived on in this ancient body, a piece of his old life on Earth. How far this body had traveled, how far he had come.

All eyes turned to him, even those of his grandson, now_ Olo'eytkan,_ looking to him for the answers, asking that unspoken question. _Where do we go from here, what must we do?_ Jake raised his hand, the five fingers a mark of his Sky People heritage, a trait some of the avatar descendants carried with them, a thing many wore as badge of honor.

"Do we fight them?" Eytukan asked respectfully, laying aside his authority for just this one moment. For who could deny Jake's expertise in such things, ancient or not?

"No. Study them. See if they had learned... find out if they _see."_ Jake answered, his voice raspy and weak, but his words full of certainty. Maybe this was why Eywa had preserved him all of these years, to deliver this final message to the People he had come to love, that they might endure the next wave of humans, that they might continue on. Hours went by as he told the old stories again, the entire clan hanging off of each word, captivated by the stories they knew only in song.

**

Unlike first contact centuries before, humanity sought the Na'vi ought first, determined to prove their pure intentions. Jake did not recognize the human woman before him, but the ceremonial knife she carried was all too familiar. He had always carried the empty scabbard with him, a reminder of the world so far away, a tiny connection to his former home. Part of him still loved that wrecked planet, hoping things would improve for those that remained, that old Terra could recover her former majesty and free herself from the endless warfare.

There wasn't much he could say to the woman, for if she had brought the knife back to him it was proof that things had improved, that man was truly ready to reach out to the peoples of the universe around them. Whoever these people were, they didn't recognize him either. Perhaps they cared nothing for Jake Sully, that thought was pleasing, he had no desire for any kind of fame. Some part of him enjoyed his dream-like delusions for at least the universe had left him more or less alone. More likely, he was so old and wrinkled, he was completely unrecognizable.

"Thanks." Jake said simply in English, smiling as he hobbled away on his cane. Eytukan knew that as a good sign, and the warriors parted, allowing the human woman to leave in peace. None had seen a Sky Person before, and they stared in awe, their gazes turning at once from fear to hope. There were no war machines descending from the skies, no guns or warriors invading their homeland. Maybe things truly _would_ be different this time around. The woman turned to face Jake once more, calling out to the assembled tribe.

"We aren't here for the rocks, don't need them anymore," she began. "We're here to learn and we're here to trade." Jake only smiled and nodded briefly, exhaustion forcing him to his hammock as the human woman left in her air-car.

Night followed soon after, the fog beginning to fall over his mind, the sharp pain of his old wounds acting up again. Ignoring it as he always had, he gazed up at the emerging stars. _How many other worlds are out there, with people like us, _he wondered wistfully. Jake supposed he would never know, but perhaps Eywa would. He would join with the life-force someday soon, he suspected, feeling the energy flowing away from his weathered body with each breath. Memories began to vanish from his mind, even as he struggled to hold on to them, fighting the haze of age.

Dreams continued on as he fell asleep, visions of great starships plying the heavens, images of Na'vi and human at peace, trading and laughing together. Earth was there too, recovering slowly, green beginning to reclaim the wasted lands even as her children ascended to great space-borne factories and stations, leaving their home world behind. Others remained behind, watching their brothers vanish into the skies, turning to the virgin forests, connecting with Eywa there. They danced among the transplanted Pandoran trees, becoming one with the planet they loved, choosing the harder life of a recovering world still in the final throes of famine and disease. It would be a hard battle, but their victory was already sealed.

Jake smiled peacefully, satisfied his work was done, shifting between dreams and reality, even as his mind grew sharp once more, like it hadn't been for many seasons. Warmth flooded through the bond with Neytiri, her voice echoing in his mind, growing stronger with each passing moment. Norm was there too, Trudy and the rest of the transplanted humans calling to him. Tsu'tey was laughing at him, Norm was chastising him, Trudy was joking around as if they had all the time in the world.

For a moment he saw his own body, the one he had always truly belonged in, peaceful and still, curled up in the hammock. Something was in the air, like he could hear the rhythms of an entire world. A herd of _yerik_ danced across the forest, _ikran _screeched from the heavens. His ancient _Toruk _still plied the skies, the incredible force of that raw fury nearly overwhelming him. Winds blew through the trees, he felt it as if it were part of his own body, as natural as anything he had ever known. Never had he felt so close to this world, never had he felt Eywa like this. It was almost as if he were a part of the planet itself.

"You _are_ with Eywa." Laughter echoed everywhere in his mind. It was a voice he had not heard in so long, the warmth of it gathered around him like a warm blanket on a frigid night. Never had he experienced such a feeling of joy as to be reunited with her.

"I am with you now Jake." The phrase had been repeated ever since that first night they spent together underneath the Tree of Voices. It was only in that moment that he truly grasped the meaning of her words.

"I'm... dead?" It was an idiotic question, and he knew it for truth. How else could he _feel_ the heartbeat of a _nantang, _or know the thrill _ikran_ experienced, plying the skies for their prey. Somehow he saw the _atokirina_ covering his cooling body, even as the clan gathered around in mourning and celebration, Eytukan standing over him, trying to blink back his tears. Appearing strong for the Omaticaya, he reached into the dirt, beginning the ritual, preparing to send him to Eywa with their blessing for a life well lived.

"_Skxawng." _Neytiri laughed, "of course you are. What do you think all of this is?" She appeared as she always had in his memory, showing that nervous smile he loved, that stubborn personality he adored, that beautiful cerulean face which had haunted his dreams. Eywa was all around them, a part of them, just as they were a part of her. But such thoughts were not important to him, not just yet. As if they were still of flesh and blood, he embraced her, their thoughts merging together as they always did before, as if they were one soul. One last truly independent thought coursed through his awareness, and Neytiri smiled knowingly.

"So you're going to have to teach me everything _again." _Jake laughed.

"_Skxawng." _She repeated.

**Additional Notes:**

The title is based off of a song I was listening to while writing this story, and it fit quite nicely with the theme, moving on from a good life to something even better. If you are wondering, the song is _Desire,_ by the German electronica act, Schiller. Since I am a trance DJ, it makes sense, right?

This is probably the last chapter I will write for this story, but maybe I'll think of a few more sometime down the road. I'll mark it complete for now, but keep an eye out in case I change my mind. I may choose to expand upon some of these little ficlets in other stories, some of the concepts were intriguing. Thanks to everyone who suffered through it with me. And if you haven't already, give Pandora's Hope a read, some of the chapters in here are heavily based on scenes from that fic.

As always, my thanks for the kind reviews and constructive criticism. Believe me, I prefer to receive a little of both. It's nice to know I don't stink as an author, but it's also helpful for someone to point out that errant typo or continuity issue, or remind me when I start to drift out of character. To other authors in this fandom, thanks for writing some amazing stories on here. I don't just write them, I'm reading yours too. I'd be lying if I said your works didn't help inspire me to write my own fics. Thanks, and keep writing (and reading).


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